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Duchy of Langley
The Duchy of Langley (formerly known as the Duchy of Ashford from independence until 1955) is a nation off the east coast of the Old Continent, comprising an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. History The history of the Duchy of Langley is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans via land bridges at least 30,000 years ago. The first recorded visit from the colonial powers was the arrival of Canissian explorer Jacques-Bertrand Frequesque in 1521. Prior to Frequesque's arrival, there were several established kingdoms present in the archipelago, some of which flourished from as early as the 10th century AD. Despite these kingdoms attaining complex political and social orders, as well as enjoying trade with and minor settlement from Japanistan, Tian Xia, the Kingdom of Serenity, the modern-day UCSR, Byzantium, Arabia, and northern Velaria, none had come to encompass the whole archipelago that was to become the Duchy of Langley. The remainder of settlements were independent barangays and ri which had allied themselves with one of the several larger kingdoms. The first country to lay claim to Langley was Wilkonia, which established its first permanent settlements in 1565 and eventually gained control of the entire archipelago in 1571. Langley was administered directly from Columbia, Wilkonia from 1565 until the end of the Second Wilkonian-Tonkinese War in 1867, with an interlude from 1600 to 1616 when it was ruled by Japanistan. During the Wilkonian period numerous towns were founded, infrastructure built, new crops and livestock introduced, and trade flourished. Wilkonian missionaries converted most of the population to Christianity and founded schools, universities, and hospitals across the islands. How the Langley archipelago eventually came into the possession of Shroomania was a direct result of the Second Wilkonian-Tonkinese War of 1864-1867; with the Wilkonians distracted by the threat to their south, the expansionistic and opportunistic Shroomanian Empire decided to seize some of the Wilkonians' outlying territories. Shroomanian adventurer Sir Ruben K. Ashford, with the aid of mercenaries, disaffected Tonkinese traders, and Japanistani convicts from penal colonies in the western parts of the archipelago, started his campaign to seize the islands in 1865 and had attained complete control by the time the war ended; the Wilkonians, who had won yet another Pyrrhic victory against the Tonkinese, simply decided to let Shroomania keep the islands. While Shroomanian colonial rule of the Langley archipelago officially started in 1867, a proper government was not actualy established until 1868 under the name of the Dominion of Ashford, with very limited local rule. Partial autonomy (commonwealth status) was granted in 1898 as preparation for full independence from Shroomania fifty years later, in 1948. However, preparations for the final transition to full sovereignty were interrupted by the Second Great War; Ashford Commonwealth troops fought in every theater of the war and even endured several attacks on their homeland by the Japanistanis in 1940-1942. With a promising economy in the 1950s, the Duchy of Langley from the 1960s until the beginning of the 21st century saw a series of coups and rule by various juntas and autocrats, with a brief interlude from 1980 to 1988 when the nation was ruled by democratically-elected presidents. The period after Lelouch Lamperouge's Black Rebellion in 2007 has been marked by political stability for the first time in nearly 50 years and economic and military revitalization. Politics and Government Military Geography Economy Demographics Culture Behind the Scenes The Duchy of Langley was named after Asuka Langley Soryu, a character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime franchise. Its current leader, Lelouch Lamperouge, is a loose expy of the character of the same name from the anime Code Geass; likewise, the former name of the country, the capital city, and the character of the General Secretary are all references to Milly Ashford, a supporting character in Code Geass. Category:CATO Nations Category:Nations Category:Player-Character Nations